Soldier (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)
A soldier is an elite XCOM operative who has military training and executes combat missions in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Soldiers are managed and recruited through the Barracks. Between missions soldiers can be seen participating in a variety off-duty activities on the various levels of the Barracks facility while in the "ant farm" view. Purpose As Earth's first and last line of defense against the Alien invaders, XCOM's soldiers are deployed by the Commander (player character) to engage in ground combat. Initially, soldiers are fielded in squads of up to four units, but upgrades can be acquired at the Officer Training School to increase the squad size to a maximum of six. Recruiting XCOM starts out with a group of twelve Rookie soldiers. Additional soldiers can be recruited via the Barracks and arrive at headquarters three days later. Each recruit costs on Easy and Normal difficulties, and on Classic and Impossible. Additional soldiers can also be received as a mission reward from the Council. Generation and Customization When recruited, a soldier's gender and nationality are randomly selected. When received as a mission reward, soldiers originate from the country in which the mission took place. Gender and nationality restrict the possible outcomes for a soldier's randomly-generated name and physical appearance. Upon attaining the rank of Sergeant, soldiers also receive a nickname, randomly selected from a list pertaining to their class and gender. Other than for an International Service Cross medal option in XCOM: Enemy Within, a soldier's nationality is completely inconsequential to gameplay. Gender is also trivial, except for when obtaining the "Flight of the Valkyries" achievement. While a soldier's most inconsequential attributes are random, factors related to combat such as initial stats and abilities, are fixed. The player can customize a soldier's name, nickname, voice, and appearance, but their nationality and gender cannot be changed. Additional appearance options (such as armor decoration and tinting or new hair/helmet choices) are available through purchasable downloadable content, such as the Elite Soldier Pack, or by editing the game's XComGame.int file. Ranks and Experience Soldiers start out as Rookies with basic abilities. As they earn experience (XP) by killing enemies and completing missions, soldiers increase in rank, rewarding them with increased stats and additional abilities (based on the soldier's class). The ranks soldiers progress through are: Squaddie, Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and Colonel. To be available for purchase, upgrades at the Officer Training School require that XCOM have at least one soldier at a particular rank (or higher). | | align="right" | |} Classes Soldiers have several specializations available, known as classes. Upon receiving a promotion to the rank of Squaddie, soldiers are randomly assigned one of four classes (weighted slightly towards the class XCOM has fewest of) that determine the weapons and abilities they can use: * Assault: Specializes in close combat. * Heavy: Specializes in using explosive weapons. * Sniper: Focuses on taking enemies out from afar. * Support: Heals, conceals, and buffs allies; provides suppression fire. In addition, soldiers have a random chance (related to their Will) of gaining a sub-class: * Psionic: Soldiers can possess a supplemental set of psionic abilities. To test for psionic capabilities, a soldier must spend 10 days in the Psionic Labs. XCOM: Enemy Within The expansion as adds a new class: * MEC Trooper: Specialized operators of Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuits, these soldiers act as heavy fire support and cover destroyers. Requires the conversion of soldiers from their base class via the Cybernetics Lab. Each base class results in a different type of MEC Trooper; all are ineligible to be genetically modified, psionic soldiers, or covert operatives. And sub-class: * Gene Mods allow soldiers to be genetically engineered in the Genetics Lab, granting up to five modifications that provide superhuman abilities. Gene-modded soldiers retain the possibility of being psionic soldiers (unless the "Mind Hates Matter" Second Wave option is enabled) and covert operatives, but cannot become MEC Troopers. Abilities Soldiers have access to a variety of general and class-related abilities in combat. General abilities allow soldiers to perform basic actions such initiating Overwatch, tossing a Frag Grenade, or using a Medikit. Class-related abilities allow soldiers to perform specialized actions such as a Heavy pinning down an enemy with Suppression while protected by a Support's Smoke Grenade, or a Sniper using Double Tap to take out an alien that an Assault has Flushed out into the open. In XCOM: Enemy Within, the Second Wave option "Training Roulette" randomizes which abilities soldiers can receive after Squaddie rank, minus certain skills that which remain class-locked. Attributes Soldiers' attributes affect their survivability and effectiveness in combat: Base Attributes Rookies start with the following stats: Attribute Increases When a soldier gains a rank, in addition to obtaining a new ability they are also granted attribute increases: *Predefined increases to HP and Aim based on class. *Randomized 2-6 point Will increase. Options and Upgrades The following game options and upgrades modify how soldier's attributes are generated or increased: Equipment Soldiers have four equipment slots available to them, and their gear load-out can be managed in the Barracks or while selecting a squad for a mission: * Body Armor: The primary armor worn by the soldier. Some armors grant additional abilities. * Primary Weapon: A primary weapon based on their class. * Secondary Weapon: A Rocket Launcher/Blaster Launcher for Heavies or a pistol-type weapon for the other classes. * Item: An extra item such as a Frag Grenade, Nano-fiber Vest, or Medikit that is unavailable in the previous slots. In XCOM: Enemy Within, MECs fulfill a composite equipment role for MEC Troopers. MECs use the Body Armor slot but are upgraded with Tactical Subsystems that fulfill roles similar to Secondary Weapons and Items. Mortality Soldiers involved in combat are susceptible to injury and death. Whenever a soldier incurs damage exceeding that of the HP bonus granted by their armor, the soldier is flagged as wounded. Upon return to base, they become unavailable for subsequent missions while recovering in the Infirmary. Procuring the Rapid Recovery training from the Officer Training School greatly reduces the amount of time soldiers spend out of action due to injuries. Critically Wounded When a soldier loses all of their HP during a mission, they either die or become critically wounded. Soldiers of a higher rank are more likely to be critically wounded instead of dying. Critically wounded soldiers must be stabilized with a Medikit or they will bleed out and die in three turns (including the turn they were injured), if the mission is not completed by then. Critically wounded soldiers, even if saved, will incur a permanent -10 (-15 on Classic) reduction to Will. In XCOM: Enemy Within, this penalty can be avoided with the Secondary Heart Gene Mod. Critically wounded soldiers are not targeted by aliens, but can still be killed before bleeding out due to explosion. Care should be taken while fighting enemies equipped with explosives or that explode upon death (such as the Cyberdisc), as well as near combustible objects in the environment (such as vehicles). Gravely Wounded When a soldier is heavily (but not critically) wounded, they are considered to be gravely wounded. Other than an increased recuperation time in the Infirmary, for all intents and purposes this status is identical to simply being wounded. It does not require stabilization, or entail the Will reduction penalty that occurs due to a critical wound. Death When a soldier dies during a mission, that soldier is permanently removed from the unit roster and their information is recorded on the Memorial Wall in the Barracks. This information includes the soldier's rank and name (and nickname if applicable), total kills, total missions performed, the name and in game date of the mission they died on. In XCOM: Enemy Within, the information also includes how the soldier was killed and any medals they may have received. Tips * Soldier roles and team composition often define the ideal play-style and tactical approach for missions. **Snipers should be in the back and in cover, with a clear line of sight towards the enemy. **Assaults (or an assault team consisting of two or more Assaults) should be deployed on the front lines with heavy armor so they can move in for the kill, or should be kept on the flanks so they can use Run & Gun to sweep in to take out weakened enemies. **Supports are multipurpose and can be used for more than just healing, especially with the extra movement perk, as they can quickly position themselves to take a shot, or move in with an Arc Thrower to stun and capture an alien. **Heavies should be in the core of the team, either lightening up targets with Holo-Targeting, or positioned in a manner to enable them to fire a rocket at a concentration of enemies. * Be aware of the power-curve for each class: ** Heavy class soldiers are very powerful early game with their Fire Rocket and Bullet Swarm abilities, as well as improved base weapon damage; however their low Aim stat progression (75 at Colonel) makes their effectiveness taper late game. ** Inversely, the Sniper's poor Mobility makes them clunky and unwieldy early game; however their Colonel abilities (In The Zone/Double Tap) and high Aim stat progression (105 at Colonel) make them the quintessential late-game carry. **Assaults and Supports both maintain well-rounded power curves (89-90 Aim at Colonel) and their specialized roles keep them relevant at all stages of the game. On harder difficulties where the early stages of the game are punishing, consider composing a squad with more Heavies to start; but gradually transitioning to more Snipers as the game progresses. * Soldiers "level up" as they progress through missions based primarily on how many aliens they kill. When a squad can safely take out a cornered alien, consider weakening it with a few hits before using a soldier you want promoted to take the kill shot. * One useful way of improving your soldier roster is to take all-Rookie teams on the first few missions, to ensure XCOM has a large number of soldiers with a few kills and promotions under their belt. Retaining a diversity of classes is extremely useful, as an injury to a particular class soldier no longer requires a different team composition and shift in strategy/play-style for the next mission. A choice of many adequate soldiers as opposed to a few highly trained ones may pay off in the long run, as a strategy focused on training a handful of vets can unravel very quickly with the death of even one key soldier. An inflated roster with promotions and kills evened out among the squad is thus recommended. ** This strategy, despite being viable and useful, should be employed with care. Fielding multiple lowly-ranked soldiers may delay the acquisition of important OTS upgrades (including Squad Size I and II) and soldier abilities (such as the Sniper Class' Squadsight). * Soldiers leveled up in the first half of the campaign are generally lacking compared to those trained with the benefits of Officer Training School bonuses. Moreover, in the latter parts of the game, soldiers can be promoted faster due to: the Wet Work upgrade, an increased number of aliens to kill during missions, a solid team of professionals backing up the newcomers, and setting up Squaddies for promotion kills. Other benefits include higher stat soldiers obtained by using the Second Wave randomizers (Not Created Equally & Hidden Potential) and filtering out low-stat soldiers. The latter-game bonuses greatly favor a transition to a "second generation" squad, even if the first-generation Colonels are still alive and well. A Second Wave second-generation squad can easily possess an average of 100+ Will stats and 85 (Heavy) to 120 (Support and Sniper) Aim stats. Of course, all of this is greatly complicated in Impossible Ironman playthrough, where staff rotation may occur "naturally". Trivia * In the Civilization V: Brave New World expansion pack, one of the new units are squads of XCOM soldiers equipped with Titan Armor and Heavy Plasma guns. They function as an upgrade to the paratroopers and have a "Skyranger" perk which allows them to be deployed from friendly territory up to 40 hexes away and are the strongest infantry unit to date in the game. Gallery Concept - Soldier1.jpg|Concept Art Concept - Soldier2.jpg|Concept Art Concept - Soldier male.jpg|Concept Art Concept - Soldier female.jpg|Concept Art MissionCtrl610.jpg|Soldiers double time for the Hangar. XCOM(EU) UpYourArsenal.jpg|A squad of veteran soldiers disembark the Skyranger. XCOM(EU) UFOCrashSite.jpg|Soldiers locate a crashed UFO. X2-620x.jpg|A squad of Soldiers with basic armor and weapons. Article-2214659-15692C4B000005DC-225 468x286.jpg|A squad of soldiers with fully upgraded weapons and armor. Category:XCOM Personnel (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)